Neonautica is a New Orleans-based duo that combines electronic dance music with live vocals and saxophone into high-energy concert experiences. DJ/producer/performer team Megan Ihnen and Alan Theisen create positive-vibes bass music by mixing dubstep with other genres including funk, hyperpop, soul, art rock, and cinematic music. Far from being two musicians standing still in a DJ booth, Neonautica also bring nonstop dancing, storytelling, lighting elements, chaotic humor, and improvisation into their performances. Joyous, trippy, and artsy, Neonautica may just be today’s EDM version of Talking Heads.
If you are a fan of wubby wonky bass music, then Neonautica is for you! Imagine GRiZ, Björk, SOPHIE, and Laurie Anderson all jamming together in a sci-fi fever dream. Their hour-long sets mostly feature original self-produced tracks but also contain fun throwbacks, covers, and remixes of classic songs.
Since 2017, Neonautica has also collaborated with composers of contemporary classical and experimental music, specializing in creating works with theatrical elements. Their touring stage production Black Meridian is a continuous, sixty-minute, two-person opera telling a story of love and black holes through music by ten different composers/songwriters.
“Neonautica’s... sound lives somewhere between EDM, orchestral music, funk, cinematic pop, and joyful chaos. What began nearly a decade ago... has evolved into a boundary-pushing live act that embraces unpredictability, humor, and emotional storytelling on the dancefloor.”
Click to watch Neonautica perform InstaHype (feat. SkyFaux) live at Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans!
The duo (formerly known as MIATp) has performed at numerous festivals and venues including Oh My Ears Festival (Phoenix), NEXTET (Las Vegas), Soulful Sessions (Peacock Room - New Orleans), Zeitgeist Halloween Festival (St. Paul), Heidelberg New Music Festival (Ohio), and more. Neonautica has joined forces with numerous musicians and artists such as composer/producer Andrew Rodriguez (PASTPREY), singer/actress Gelsey Bell (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), composer Jennifer Bellor, performer/video artist Nick Zoulek (Rushing Past Willow), composer Neil Anderson-Himmelspach, and saxophonist Scott Johnson (Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra). Neonautica is a partnered ensemble with ADJective Composers’ Collective as well as a fiscally sponsored project of Bang on a Can.
“Voice, saxophone, and electronics mesh art song with synth pop, blurring the lines of genre or perhaps shrugging off those confines entirely.”
“...particularly gifted at their craft.”
“From the first note to the last, [Neonautica] suspends time and transports their audiences into a new enrapturing world.”
